June 24, 2010

“The symbolism of the Goddess is not a parallel structure to the symbolism of God the Father. The Goddess does not rule the world. She is the world. Manifest in each of us, She can be known internally by every individual, in all her magnificent diversity.”

“As women, however, we need to look very closely at these philosophies and ask ourselves the hard-headed, critical question, “What’s in it for me?” “What does this spiritual system do for women?” Of course, the gurus, teachers, and ascended masters will tell us that, even by asking such a question, we are merely continuing in our enslavement to the Lords of Mind; that it is simply another dodge of the ego as it resists dissolution in the All.”

June 20, 2010

Sadly, it’s been more than a month since I turned in my first homework for the Holy Book One class, but so far it has not been graded & I can’t move on to the next lesson because the system doesn’t show it to me until the first one has been graded. I don’t really know what is going on with it! I’m very disappointed.

And their “Ninth Wave” program. I asked on some forums for review, and it seems quite positive. The program looks very intuitive and I like the structure. So I’m thinking about it. It seems the creator is on the BPAL forums I post on, which is funny to me! But also indicates activeness online, something that seems lacking in the HB1 class.

June 19, 2010

When we are learning the Craft, and starting on this path, what we are doing is learning to speak the language of the world we already live in. We learn to recognize those wild things that we can harness but cannot tame, to understand and interpret the cycles of energy that surround and penetrate our lives. The Craft is not a religion, it is more than that. To understand the language of the plants we walk past, to learn to read the stars — these are things we can all grasp, all achieve. While some may have greater gifts of understanding than others, we can all learn to understand the natural world. That is part of walking this path. That is a way to live one’s life.

June 8, 2010

“Okay, y’all, here’s the thing:

I’m pissed.

No, I’m enraged. I am simply quaking with horror and rage and shock at the oil RIVER spewing into the Gulf. As a person, an American, a consumer…I’m upset. But as a Pagan, I am gone beyond simple upset.

We are killing my deity. Worse, we are making Her kill herself AND Her children. Our greed and consumption and blithe ignorance of the way the world works is causing the death of something ultimately sacred to me.

In my weird, strange, two- and three- and, okay, occasionally four-faced faith, Mother wears many clothes: She hides herself in Earth. She shines like the Moon. And She wears, always, a cloak of the blue flowing around Her.

The Ocean is Mother: the warm, wet place from which we came. The source of our rain, our mist, our wind. The Seas are what make Earth unique in our solar system–perhaps our galaxy. Without the Seas, humans could not be.

How lucky the Christians are, with their god who died for their sins and then got to go to Heaven. Our goddess is dying BECAUSE of our sins, but here is no heaven for Her. We are making a Hell of Her. For Her. It makes me want to wail.

I hate feeling so helpless. I HATE feeling as if there is nothing I can do. I want to punch the BP exec who wants his “life back” square in the kisser. I want to SHAKE the people who try act as if liberals or environmentalists are the bad guys when we say, “Um, hi. THIS is what we’ve been talking about.” I can’t STAND it when politicians posture to figure out which angle is best to reach the largest number of voters.

But, ultimately, this can’t be about my politics or my rage. This must be about my love. I love my planet. I love my Mother. I want to help Her, somehow. I can cut back on driving, I can recycle, I can stop buying plastic. I can do all of these things. But I can’t stop the flow of the oil. I can’t clean up all of those animals. I can’t stop the death.

But I can’t help thinking…maybe…if we all work together…we can heal Her. We can HELP heal Her. We can, at the very least, show Her our love.

The New Moon falls on the 12th this month. This is, perhaps coincidentally, the first evening I will spend on vacation. I will be on my favorite island, surrounded by the cool waters of the Atlantic. I’m planning, once the kidlets are asleep, to make my way down to the beach, down to the waves, and smooth my hands over the water. I will say, “Peace be with you, Mother. Take from me what strength you need to heal yourself and your children.” And I will send as much love and light and peace back into Her as I can.

Will you join me? Will you find your way to the water, even if it’s a bowl of tap water from your kitchen? Will you help me send love and light and peace and STRENGTH back to our Mother as we try to help Her heal herself?

Let me know. Maybe we can make this a movement. Maybe we can turn the tide of consumption and greed and ignorance. Maybe…”

June 8, 2010

… On why spells don’t always work.These are just generalizations and may not apply to your situation but they can be good for you to examine, just in case.

1) What you are asking for may not be a good idea and the powers that be are blocking it. Remember, be careful of what you wish for…

2) You may not be asking or framing the working in the right way. When I was having trouble with my job search, I was doing spell after spell for a new job, success, whatever. At one point, I got so fustrated and my friend advised I step back and reevaluate my approach. I did and reworked my ritual from an alternate presepective, outlining the type of job I wanted and a spell to smooth my overall path to what I wanted, and it worked.

3) Are you stressed? Often, being upset and frustrated with your workings not working, trying too hard and being too stressed IRL can create tension that prevents your workings from getting through.

4) How much time has passed? Sometimes it can take a long time for causality to get around to bringing your final desired out come.

5) Are you applying real world solutions towards what you want to happen? I recall once upon a time somebody asking me for a spell to bring her more money, without specifiying a possible source or any plan to obtain this windfall. Just a spell for more money, as though it would just fall from the sky. I told her that the Gods help those who help themselves, so do this spell then look for part time work. Unless you are prepared to take a few IRL steps, just spell work isn’t always enough to make something happen (there are exceptions of course, depending on what the manifestation is).

June 3, 2010

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, & demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long & its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people & grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food & for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one & no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools & robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep & pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song & die like a hero going home.” — Tecumseh